Rights and regulation of travel and tourism mobility

Despite substantial growth in international mobility as a result of technological, economic and political change national borders still constitute a significant barrier for tourism. Although in many countries people may believe that they have an intrinsic right to travel, no such legal rights exist under international law, with the decisions and declarations of the World Tourism Organization only constituting a form of ‘soft’ international law in contrast to ‘hard’ international and domestic law. The paper argues that international migration and trade law, particularly the General Agreement of Trade in Services, are potentially the most significant with respect to the regulation of travel and tourism mobility along with some aspects of supranational law such as consumer rights. As a result the paper emphasises the importance of cognate policy domains, such as trade, migration and the environment, for understanding the regulation of tourism and travel, and their influence on tourism policy.